I usually don’t enter recipe contests, but this one looked like fun. Cape Cod Select accepted me and 49 other bloggers to compete in their “Summer Breeze Recipe Challenge”. This recipe is for their beverage category.

Cranberries in August

Fresh cranberries usually aren’t readily available in late August. I used Cape Cod Select premium frozen cranberries. This cranberry sangria makes a great transition beverage from the flavors of summer into all things autumn.

Make-Ahead Cranberry Sangria

The thing I love most about making sangria is that it’s one of the easiest big-batch cocktails you can make. It’s the ultimate make-ahead cocktail and it always impresses. You just throw everything into a pitcher and you’re done. It’s hard to mess up and always tastes amazing.

Today’s cranberry sangria is filled with so many incredible fall flavors. I started by researching what flavors go best with cranberries. Then I adapted the recipe from my Easy Sangria with Sweet Tea.

Sangria is basically a wine infused with fruit and usually a liqueur. It’s often cut with a club soda if you’re looking for some fiz. But I used black tea instead.

You’ll simply need some fresh or frozen cranberries and orange slices for the fruit.

Pro Tips:

Which wine to use? Since I love Pinot Noir, that’s what I used. But any mild red wine is perfect. The wine doesn’t have to be expensive. I used a $12 bottle of Pinot Noir.

As for the liqueur, I used an orange-flavored Cointreau Triple Sec that melds beautifully with the amazing fruit flavor combination of cranberry and oranges. Serious Eats has a really nice field guide on orange liqueurs if you’re undecided about which orange-flavored liqueur to use.

For the black tea, I used my favorite Earl Grey because it’s a nice bergamot orange flavored tea. The strong Ceylon and Assam black tea is able to compete with the heavier red wine and cranberry flavors. As you know, Earl Grey is a black tea infused with bergamot oil so it’s a perfect tea to blend with an orange liqueur, as I did with my Enchanting Earl Grey Tea Cocktail.

I let my sangria infuse overnight in the refrigerator. The longer you let your sangria sit before drinking it, the more the fruit will infuse its flavors into the cocktail. And the more the alcohol will soak into the fruit. Everything about this cranberry sangria is fabulously delicious.

Cranberry Sangria

Recipe Notes

Which wine to use? Since I love Pinot Noir, that's what I used. But any mild red wine is perfect. The wine doesn’t have to be expensive. I used a $12 bottle of Pinot Noir.

As for the liqueur, I used an orange-flavored Cointreau Triple Sec that melds beautifully with the amazing fruit flavor combination of cranberry and oranges. Serious Eats has a really nice field guide on orange liqueurs if you're undecided about which orange-flavored liqueur to use.

For the black tea, I used my favorite Earl Grey because it's a nice bergamot orange flavored tea. The strong Ceylon and Assam black tea is able to compete with the heavier red wine and cranberry flavors. As you know, Earl Grey is a black tea infused with bergamot oil so it's a perfect tea to blend with an orange liqueur, as I did with my Enchanting Earl Grey Tea Cocktail.

I let my sangria infuse overnight in the refrigerator. The longer you let your sangria sit before drinking it, the more the fruit will infuse its flavors into the cocktail. And the more the alcohol will soak into the fruit. Everything about this cranberry sangria is fabulously delicious.

Nutrition Facts

Orange Cranberry Sangria with Earl Grey

Amount Per Serving (8 ounces)

Calories 201

% Daily Value*

Sodium 6mg0%

Potassium 40mg1%

Total Carbohydrates 33g11%

Dietary Fiber 1g4%

Sugars 30g

Vitamin A0.4%

Vitamin C5.4%

Calcium0.3%

Iron0.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Where to buy Cape Cod Select cranberries

You can buy Cape Cod Select premium frozen cranberries at many stores or you can order them online. My cranberries were sent to me through the mail from the sponsor so there doesn’t seem to be a problem with mailing out frozen cranberries.

A little bit about Cape Cod Cranberries:

Cape Cod Select is a small women-owned family business.

The Rhodes family has been growing cranberries for more than 75 years.

Their cranberries are non-GMO verified and grown focusing on sustainability powering their facilities with solar power.

You can follow Cape Cod Select on their social media accounts or find them on their website.

Make This Recipe

Let me know if you make this recipe and share your thoughts with me. Is it contest winning worthy? Would you make this recipe again?

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About Mary Ann Rollano

Learn about tea. Mary Ann is the founder of the award-winning MaryAnna's Tea and Life Is Better With Tea. An educational blog introducing conventional tea drinkers to the world of specialty tea. Enthusiasts learn the skills of selecting, brewing and creating recipes with tea.